Jan
31
2012
The Fairey Swordfish was a carrier-borne torpedo-bomber aircraft deployed by the British Royal Navy during World War II. Developed by Fairey, the Swordfish first flew in 1934, entering service in 1935. By the outbreak of war in 1939 a total of 689 aircraft had been delivered. The Swordfish was a three-seat biplane powered by a 559.3-kW Bristol Pegasus XXX radial piston engine, producing 750 horsepower. It was armed with one fixed forward-firing 7.7mm (.303) machine gun and one tramable 7.7mm (.303) gun in rear cockpit, plus an offensive load of one 457mm ( 18-in) torpedo or eight 27.2-kg (60-lb) rocket projectiles.
Seemingly an anachronism in World War II, the Swordfish remained unmatched by any other British naval aircraft in terms of battle honors. At the heart of this was the aircraft’s immense sturdiness and basic good design. Throughout the later months of the war, Swordfish were used on general attacks against German shipping in the North Sea. These were often small vessels and their light defenses proved inadequate against the tough Swordfish. Rockets were the favored weapon for these strikes. Among the memorable military engagements in which this British biplane participated was the action at Tarante on November 11, 1940, when Swordfish aircraft from HMS Illustrious severely damaged three Italian battleships; the crippling of the Bismarck in the Atlantic; and the suicidal attack on the German warships, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen during their famous escape up the English Channel in February 1942.
Production of the Swordfish was undertaken largely by Blackburn. The Swordfish Mk II version had a strengthened lower wing to allow eight rocket projectiles to be mounted; the Swordfish Mk III was fitted with ASV radar between the landing legs; and the Swordfish Mk IV (conversion of the Mk II) had a rudimentary enclosed cabin. By August 1944, a total of 2,396 Swordfish had been built.
Specifications
type: ship-borne torpedo aircraft
Country of origin: United Kingdom
Power plant: one 750-hp Bristol Pegasus XXX radial piston engine
Maximum speed: 230 km/h (138 mph) at sea level
Range: 880 km (546 miles)
Ceiling: 5867 m ( 19,250 ft)
Wing span: 12.87 m (45 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 56.39 m2 (607 sq ft)
Length: 10.87 m (35 ft 8 in)
Crew: 3
Jan
29
2012
The overwhelming importance of carrier aircraft as power projection in warfare at sea was only dimly foreseen in the years which led up to World War II. Historically, it had been the battleship and the naval gunnery which had dominated the oceans ever since the days of the Spanish Armada right up to the Battle of Jutland. In addition, battleships considerably outnumbered carriers in navies throughout the world. Nevertheless, the 1930s saw the evolution of the methods and tactics that were to dominate the Pacific Theater of Operations and which were also to contribute greatly to the successful conclusion of the war in the Atlantic. It was the US Navy that was eventually to become the master of carrier warfare; however, both the Royal Navy and the Imperial Japanese navy were able to make significant contributions.
Carrier-borne air power reached such a peak in World War II that several battles which took place over the Pacific were fought solely with carrier-borne aircraft. Elsewhere the carriers were protecting convoys, fighting submarines and covering beach assaults. The demands made by this new form of warfare were considerable, especially upon the aircraft used and upon the young pilots who flew them. The ‘controlled crash’ of a carrier landing demanded strong nerves and a strong aircraft. If the sea itself was anything other than calm (which unfortunately it so often was), the motion of the waves would cause the deck to pitch and roll alarmingly, making landings rather tricky.
Generally, carrier-based aircraft had inferior performance when compared to their land-based contemporaries – although this did not prevent the Fairey Swordfish from amassing a war record which was second to none – while conversions of land-based planes, such as the Supermarine Spitfire produced performance – at the expense of durability. Instead, it was left to the Japanese to show that the carrier aircraft, in the shape of the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, could outfly and outfight its land-based opponents. It was, however, the swarm of big, beefy US Navy aircraft, which were based upon the navy’s massive American carrier force, that was to prove decisive in the Pacific. Led by the Grumman F6F Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair, US and Allied naval aircraft in their thousands ranged the skies over Japan during the final months of the war, in a display of naval air power undreamed of only five years before.
Jan
28
2012
The Kawasaki Ki-100 was Japanese single-engine fighter aircraft used in World War II. It was developed by Kawasaki from the Ki-61, entering service in 1945 and seeing combat action in the last three months of the war. By the end of May, 1945, 272 Ki-61 airframes were converted to the new configuration, which entered service as the Army Type 5 Fighter Model 1A, which was identified by the company as the Kawasaki Ki-100-1a. But only a total of 99 fighter aircraft of version Ki-100-1b were manufactured before production was brought to an end by the intense Allied air raids.
The Kawasaki Ki-100 was a single-seat, low-winged monoplane, powered by a Mitsubishi Ha-112-1114-cylinder radial piston engine, delivering 1,500 hp. The Ki-100-Ib introduced a cut-down rear fuselage over the original Ki-61 shape, which improved pilot vision. Its weapons consisted of two fuselage-mounted 12.7mm(.50) Ho-103(Type 1) machine-guns and two wing-mounted 20mm Ho-5 cannons, plus two 250-kg (551 lb) bombs. Although it was considered a reliable and maneuverable fighter, it could match the faster and sturdier American fighters, such as the Air Force P-51 Mustang or the Navy F4U Corsair.
Specifications
Type: fighter aircraft
Country of origin: Japan
Manufacturer: Kawasaki
Power plant: one 1,500hp, Mitsubishi Ha-112-1114-cylinder radial piston engine
Maximum speed: 590 km/h (367 mph) at 10000 m
Range: 2000 km ( 1,243 miles)
Ceiling: 10670 m (35,007 ft)
Weapons: two 20mm guns in wings; two 12.7mm machine guns in fuselage
Wing span: 12,00 m (39 ft 4.4 in)
Wing area 20.00 m2 (215.3 sq ft)
length 8.80 m (28 ft 10.5 in)
Crew: 1
Jan
27
2012
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 was a World War II Soviet fighter which entered service in May 1941. By the time of the German invasion of the Soviet Union, there were about only 100 MiG-3s in service from a total of 3,422 produced during the war. Although it had been designed for a high-altitude role, combats on the Eastern Front took place below 6000 m (19,685 ft), where the German Messerschmitt Bf 109 had a clear performance advantage over the MiG-3. As a result, attrition was high and many Russian fighter aircraft were shot down by German pilots who would become aces.
The MiG-3 was a single-seat, low-winged monoplane developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich. It had a sliding cockpit canopy and retractable landing gear and was powered by a Mikulin AM-35 A V-12 piston engine that produced 1,350 hp. The MiG-3 was armed with one 12.7mm(.50) Beresin BS and two 7.62mm (.30) ShKAS nose-mounted machine-guns (later increased by two 12.7mm (.50) underwing guns), plus provision for six 8.2-cm (3.23-in) underwing rockets or two 100-kg (220-lb) bombs.
Specifications
Type: fighter aircraft
Country of origin: Soviet Union (Russia)
Manufacturer: Mikoyan-Gurevich
Power plante: one 1,350hp, Mikulin AM-35 A V-12 piston engine
Maximum speed: 640 km/h (398 mph) at 7000 m
Range: 1250 km (777 miles)
Service ceiling: 12000 m (39,370 ft)
Weapons: one 12.7mm (.50) machine gun; two 7.62mm machine guns; plus up to two 100 kg bombs
Wing span: 10.30 m (33 ft 9.5 in)
Wing area: 17.44 m2 (187.7 sq ft)
Length: 8.15 m (26 ft 9 in)
Crew: 1
Jan
26
2012
The Potez 631 was a French night fighter aircraft used by the Armée de l’Air during World War II. It was developed from the Potez 63 by Nord Aviation for the night fighting role. Thus, this French low-winged monoplane was one of a family of design variations of the Potez 63 which had originated in a requirement issued in 1934 for a two multi-purpose aircraft. The French Potez 631 night-fighter corresponded in many respects to the RAF’s Bristol Blenheim, being very similar in size and performance as well as being conceived as a variation of a light bomber. At the beginning, relatively little importance was placed on the Potez 631 night fighter, and it was not until June 1938 that production orders totaling 207 were confirmed. This French heavy fighter was armed with two fixed forward-firing 20mm guns under fuselage and one hand-held 7.5mm (0.295-in) machine gun in dorsal position; in the ground-attack role, it could carry up to two 150 kg bombs.
When the German attack opened in the West the various Potez 631 units were in constant action both by day and night, although lack of radar prevented much success during the hours of darkness. In the first 11 days of the campaign Aéronavale’s Flotille F 1C shot down 12 German aircraft for the loss of eight, but the Armée de l’Air night fighter units were ordered to assume day ground-attack duties, losing heavily to enemy flak. Moreover, losses were exceptionally heavy to Allied guns and fighters as a result of the Potez 631′s superficial similarity to the German Messerschmitt Bf 110; it has been estimated that as many as 30 of the French aircraft were shot down in error. In all, Potez 631 night fighters destroyed a total of 29 German aircraft in the Battle of France, but for a loss of 93 of their own number. Of the remainder about 110 were in the Free French Zone (Vichy France) at the time of the armistice, but their number dwindled quickly because of a chronic lack of spares.
Specifications
Type: night fighter
Country of origin: France
Manufacturer: Nord Aviation
Power plant: two 700-hp (522-kW) Gnome-Rhône 14 air-cooled radial piston engines
Maximum speed: 442 km/h (275 mph)
Range: 1220 km (758 miles)
Ceiling: 8800 m (28,870 ft)
Weapons: two 20mm cannons; one 7,7mm machine gun
Wing span: 16,00 m (52 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 32.70 m2 (351.98sq ft)
Length: 11.07 m (36 ft 4 in)
Crew: 2
